FOOTLIGHT FLASHES.

Evening Star, Issue 14574, 24 May 1911, Page 10

FOOTLIGHT FLASHES.

[By Cau. Box.] So far, the J. C. Williamson managenent has not known the experience in Sydney of having one seat vacant at Her Majesty’s for ’ Jack and the Beanstalk, now in its fifth week there. The Mountebank Amateur ■ Dramatic Club will (under the guidance of Mr D. Chateau) produce Somerset Maughan s remedy ‘ Mrs Dot ’ at the Opera House, Wellington, in the second week of dime. ’The Whip’ is undoubtedly creating a new record in Wellington in the way of capacity business. Originally it was intended to produce three pieces during the seventeen nights' season there—viz., * Ihe Whip,’ 'Via Wireless.’ and ‘Hetui of Navarre.’ Every night during the first week there were disappointed applicants lor admission both at the ticket office and the door, and so the management determined to eliminate ‘Via Wireless,’ and to extend the run of 'The Whip’ for thirteen nights instead of ten, as originally intended. On Monday last I happened to be in Wellington when the box plan lor the second six nights of * The Whip ’ was opened. The rush for seals certainly belied the current stories about Wellington heimr ; n a bad way at. present as a consequence of the land boom, for as fast as the seats could be allotted they were taken up, and the whole of the plan for the second week was filled. It would not surprise me to find that under pressure the management decide to play only ‘The Whip ’ during their seventeen nights’ slay, and thus easily outdo all Dominion records. Meanwhile Messrs It. .Stewart and Berkeley present a beaming if worried appearance. ' The Executioner's Daughter ’ is to he the next production at the King’s Theatre, Melbourne, at the conclusion of ‘Tin? Squatter's Daughter’ season. The delightfully refreshing atmosphere of the latter piece evidently makes a strong appeal to Melbourne playgoers, for this is its fifth production in Melbourne, and although it is now ending its second week the attendance shows no signs of flagging, and it will probably run for another fortnight. Auckland playgoers extended a very warm welcome to the Harry RobertsBeatrice Day Dramatic Company, who inaugurated a tour of New Zealand at Auckland on M4y 9 under William Anderson’s management, the opening production being Walter Howe’s successful romantic drama ’ The Prince and the Beggar- Maid,’ which met with the enthusiastic approval of a very large house. ‘ Lucky Durham ’is billed as the next production in that town, and it will be followed by the uew American drama ’Plight is Might,’ which was so successfully interpreted by the same company in Melbourne. As already mentioned, the New Zeaand tour of ‘The Arcadians’ will he injugurated at His Majesty's on Tuesday, ■Line 27. The Dunedin season will ho for seven nights. Mr Leo 1). Chateau will be touring manager, and Mr Jimmy Moore business manager. A clever performance, of 'Anns and the Man’ was put up by .Miss Katherine Grey, who look the part of I.ouka, the serving maid, supported by Mr William Desmond, and the dramatic company Mr Williamson has surrounded her with at the Princess’s, Melbourne. The Shaw comedy has created all the interest and excitement it was expected to do there, and quite a success of enthusiasm has been mad© by this the first Shaw piece to bo staged in Australia.

Ambrose Manning, who will be remembered for his splendid work in the late Wilson Barrett Company out here some years ago, and who will be Tom Lambert, the big-hearted trainer in ’The Whip, commenced his stage, career at the early age of seven, when ho appeared in a pantomime as a formidable black beetle. The stage experience thus gained whetted his desire to rise to the top of the tree in the profession, lor during his holidays he spent his time in playing in the various nantomirnes which followed in succession for the next seven years. Tlten he was placed in an architect's office, but soon tired of it.’ and returned to the stage under the management of the late A. E. Sothcrn. Dir Manning is recognised as one of the finest character actors of the, English stage of to-day. The announcement that Mr H. B. Irving is to make his Australian debut in ' Hamlet ’ has already caused the bookshop windows in Sydney to blossom with every kind of edition of this play held in stock. A remarkable thing about Shakespeare is that the interest in his Mays runs to purchases at the bookstalls immediately a star who has won fame in one of the great roles appears on the theatrical horizon.

Thus the Perth ‘ Daily Nows ’ on George Pat'ton’s play ‘ Nobody’s Daughter.’ produced for the first time in Australia by the Plimmer-Denniston Company throe weeks ago:—“A canu-o from real life, with ail its intensely human errors and emotions, touched finely with the divine attribute of forgiveness, ‘Nobody’s Daughter ’ stands out from the commonplace of the stage just as the actual experiences of our own lives project in bold relief from the stories which we read in books.’ It is a tragedy of the emotions, running the whole gamut of heart throbs, the joy and love of life, the agony and suffering born of misdeeds, the torture of broken confidence, and finally the loving triumph of forgiveness. It is i dimple but compelling story of the fall of a very young man and girl. . . . Even the most callous of the audience had a lump to swallow in the last act. The opening act is the quietest of all, for it is largely explanatory, but from that out the progress is rapid, and the interest grows and intensifies step by step, until it culminates, as all plays should, though few do, when the curtain falls in the last act. It is well balanced ami well worked out, and the dialogue is exceptionally smart and clever. It is a wonderful play, which must have a vogue extending over many yeoie, eventually- becoming just as much a classic, though in a different sphere, as ‘The Silver King.’

Thu famous ‘ ('hantecier ’ hats figure prominently in ‘The Arcadians,’ to be produced shortly. There uro all kinds and colors of birds represented, including the owl, pheasant, rooster, hen, and many other varieties. The white rcoster hat is worn by Ethel Foreyth. the leader of the “ show girls” in the play. Miss Forsyth it was who walked through the streets' of Melbourne wearing the hat. and caused a. sensation, having to take refuge in a shop until the police cleared the crowd away. Some of the ‘ Chantecler ’ hats in ‘ The Arcadians’—tire ‘‘golden pheasant” for j example—cost thirty guineas each. Miss Evelyn Kerry, who plays Lady Diana Sartoris in ‘ The Whip,’ to bo presented by Mr J. C. Williamson’s English company on Saturday, June 10. is an Irish girleen, a fine belierer in physical culture, and an exceptional horsewoman, Says Miss Kerry: “We took a fiat in Sydney, just half an hour’s run from the links—you must understand that 1 am a golfing enthusiast to the verge of madness—in fact. I love all kinds of sport. Glorious links! we spent most ot i.ur spare time there; it was just splendid. Then 1 am passionately fond of dogs and horses, and that is why I like ‘The 'Whip’ so much. I really revel in my part. I make my first appearance riding ‘The Whip,’ and speaking of this reminds me of a very funny experience I had in Melbourne. My horse, the one which had been trained to the part—which, by the way, is none other than Maida, a winner of several important races in Australia—went dead lame in the afternoon, and they had to •end out to Caulfield for another. They got me a beauty, a real thoroughbred, but there was no time for rehearsal, and so I bad to ride him without any preparation whatever. Imagine, then, the consternation of the poor brute when 1 rode him right on to the stage in all the glare of the electric footlights and before a. great audience which filled every part of the theatre. And oh! what do you think? He got stage fright—turned toil and rushed off the stage, nor could anything induce him to go on again (and I forgot to tell you it was a vice-command night). Of . coarse, it did not happen again. Really, our horses in ‘ The Whip ’ are wonderfully Intelligent, and I love them all." The production of Roy Redgrave’s new version of ‘The Sorrows of Sirtan’ has been postponed in consequence of the heavy nature of the piece, which reauhes

more time than was anticipated in order to give it the elaborate attention to detail which is necessary to the success of a big production of tHis class. ‘The Executioner’s Daughter’ 'will be produced in- | stead, following * The Squatter’s Daughter ’at the King’s Theatre, Melbourne. In all probability Miss Eugenie Duggan will make her reappearance in that play. A few weeks ago, in referring to the number of bands that played ‘La La’ in the eight hours’ procession, a comparison was drawn of the way in which a pantomime song hit spreads its influence. A very much larger sphere is indicated in the series of special articles which one of the members of Captain Scott’s Antarctic expedition is writing for the Melbourne ‘ Argus.' In describing the hunting of penguins, he mentions that one of the schemes is for the whole ship’s company to stand and sing ‘ I have got rings on my lingers ’ as loud as they can. It seems, he says, to have a soothing effect on the penguins, and the man who is after them can generally collar them alive while they are listening to the dulcet strains of Lily Iris's last year’s pantomime song success. Willie Pantzer, head of the troupe of acrobats in ‘Jack and the Beanstalk,’ has had restored to him by the present Kaiser the title of baron, which his grandfather lost. The title was given to the Pautzer family in 1438. and they bore it nobly until Karl Pantzer revolted against King Wilhelm of Prussia—that is, he became associated with Anarchists. He made his escape to America, and after four years’ exile returned to Europe, taking refuge in #angary. Later on he was pardoned, but his estates were confiscated. Karl Pantzer’s children were left penniless, and his eldest son, Charles, joined a circus, living a gipsy life, and eventually journeying to England, where he met Willie Pantzer’s mother, who was a bareback rider in a hippodrome. From his parents Willie Pantzer inherited his acrobatic skill. Willie has the title baron, toegther with the coat of arms and full details of his pedigree/ hut the family property has been withheld from him. " I spent nearly three years and a large sum of money.” he says, “ fighting my claim in Berlin. When in Europe 1 use the coat of arms on my motor, and 1 suppose I must be cement; but -it was the property 1 really put up . the tight for." Eieanora Be Cieneros, who has 1 evil encaged by the I C. Williamson manig? >■ ment l’-.r the .Melba grand opera season, played the part of I’oppoa at Philadelphia on ’the occasion of the premiere, of Jean Nougues’s grand opera, ‘Quo Vadis.’ Ihe opera is founded in Sienkiewicz’s wellknown book which bears such a close resemblance to ‘The Sign of the Cross.’ The latest colonial aspirant for honors on the English stage is Miss Deborah Nansen, who is barely eighteen, and was fortunate enough to secure the attention ot Mr and Mis Oscar Asche when they were in Syd.vy. She is a Westralha by rorth, and is u daughter of the At onieyGeneral of that State. She has hien understudying a part in ‘ Hannibal,' and was playing a minor role in 'The Merry Wives of Windsor' at His Majesty's. Miss Nansen, who studied music and singing on the Continent, went Home along with the Asdics, and is accompanied by her mother. —Haddon Chambers's Now Play.— ♦ One of the brightest, deftest, and richly human comedies that has been produced for many a. long clay (writes my London correspondent on March 31) is Mr Haddon Chambers's four-act play ‘ Passers By,' produced at Wyndjiam's Theatre last Wednesday night. Mr Chambers has kept out of the public eye so long that some of us had begun to look upon’ the Australian dramatist as a "hack number.” hut with the instant and signal success of ' Passers By ’ he regains at once his old place in the very first lank of oar writers of comedy. Therein we see all his old knowledge of life and of stagecraft. the wit, the torches of frank sentimentality, the daring, and the skilful char-acter-drawing that made Mr Chambers so popular an author with playgoers in time past. •passers By’ has a very simple story—almost casual, freely coincidental. Peter Wavcrton is a rich bachelor, well blessed with the world's goods, and engaged to a charming girl, Beatrice. One foggy, raw evening, being bored, he gives up his social engagements, and at first from curiosity and then from interest gels the passers-by into his rooms. First a cabman, rough, merry, sensible, and with sound ideas of eugenics. Then a " verminous ’ wastrel, feeble-minded, idle, helpless, and hopeless. With them he discusses affairs—their affairs, his, own, and affairs in general—am) sends them off with an invitation to return. Then comes another passer-by—-a woman young und delicate, who is lost in the fog. ’they recognise each other. She is Margaret Summers, who was governess in his family, ami he has loved her to her undoing. She lias disappeared, and two letters written to him have been intercepted. She tells him of her life since thev last met. and that he is the father of her six-year-old child. He is immensely interested in her, in the child, and in himself, and she promises to come again and bring the little Peter with her. He tells her of his engagement. Her visits continue, he growing fonder of the child and the child of him. The wastrel Burns has been taken on as an odd-job man ; but, a» he expresses it, " work is for workmen, and he makes but little of his jobs. In half-witted anger he tempts the child away. Margaret is discovered in Peter's rooms bv Beatrice and her step-sister Lady Hurley.’and the truth is told. Just then the loss of the child is discovered, and Lady Hurley, a hard, interfering, oppressive woman, leaves, scandalised. Beatrice, however, insists on slaying with Margaret while Peter scours London in a motor car, and the two women pass the night together —Beatrice tender, kind, and cheering ; Margaret tired, anxious., and nervous. The communion of the early hours brings them together. Beatrice learns that Margaret still loves Peter, and learns also that Peter loves Margaret; so, stifling her own love for Peter, nobly stands aside, and thus paves the way for their union, A nieie sketch of the plot can, however, give little idea of the tenderness, the wit, and charm of the play, which is splendidly acted in every part, not the least of the honors falling to an Australian actor, Mr O. P. Heggie. who gives a really vivid presentation of the feeble-minded yet cunning wastrel Sammy Burns. —The “Grand Old Man" of Music,—

When Hr Hans Richter laid down his baton at the dose of his farewell concert

at Queen's ]lall this week the greatest con- ! doctor of modern times brought to a close ] his active career. He may yet appear 1 again at occasional benefit jierformances, i but his working days are now at tin end, i and he retires to an honorable and wellearned leisure. The loss to I'.lmlish music ; is a very great one. Hans Richter is the grand old man of music. His combination of qualities have made him unique, as a conductor, the greatest of those qualities being, perhaps, his wonderful authority. No player in the orchestra dared to give less than his best in obedience to the call of Richter's baton. The old man has a practical familiarity with every instrument in the orchestra ;* he can play practically every instrument himself. Then he has an amaaing memory. He has often conducted whole concerts without a score. His knowledge of musical literature is encylopedic, and on Wagnerian music he is the greatest living authority. In the rendering of the work of Wagner, Beethoven, and Brahms he stands unrivalled, but his sympathies are by no means confined to these classics. His readings arc famous for their directness, for his instructive sense of the right tempo, and for hi* unerring feeling for rhythm. There is no one who can adequately fill his shoes now that be has stepped out of them. To all musicians ho was "the master. - ’ Scenes of great enthusiasm marked the old man's final appearance at Queen's Hall. With his usual distaste for ceremonies he vetoed the proposal to make him the recipient of a public presentation, but the London Symphony Orchestra wore allowed to honor their venerable conductor privately. They presented him with an address and a silver loving cup at the rehearsal before the farewell concert. Dr Richter’s reply was characteristic in its directness and lack of egotism. No conductor fell from heaven, he said. If anyone said he was a conductor by ■ his own merits alone he was. a swindler. While teaching he had himself

learnt. Thus disappears from the scene the venerable master, the foremost conductor of his time. —London correspondent, April 15.